Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births, 2021

Douglas County had the highest employer firm births of 81 counties in 2021, at 964. Thomas County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 9 and the figure for Nebraska was 2,622. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest964Douglas County
Median981 counties
Nebraska2,622History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 38 countArthur County: 0 countBanner County: 0 countBlaine County: 0 countBoone County: 9 countBox Butte County: 7 countBuffalo County: 76 countBurt County: 9 countButler County: 10 countCass County: 32 countCedar County: 12 countChase County: 4 countCherry County: 7 countCheyenne County: 13 countClay County: 5 countColfax County: 10 countCuming County: 14 countCuster County: 13 countDakota County: 15 countDawes County: 6 countDawson County: 25 countDixon County: 9 countDodge County: 32 countDouglas County: 964 countFillmore County: 9 countFranklin County: 7 countFurnas County: 6 countGage County: 23 countGarden County: 4 countGarfield County: 7 countGosper County: 4 countGreeley County: 6 countHall County: 81 countHamilton County: 13 countHarlan County: 3 countHayes County: 0 countHitchcock County: 4 countHolt County: 11 countHooker County: 0 countHoward County: 9 countJefferson County: 3 countJohnson County: 5 countKearney County: 15 countKeith County: 10 countKimball County: 6 countKnox County: 11 countLancaster County: 416 countLincoln County: 32 countLogan County: 0 countLoup County: 0 countMadison County: 29 countMerrick County: 7 countMorrill County: 7 countNemaha County: 4 countNuckolls County: 8 countOtoe County: 24 countPawnee County: 4 countPerkins County: 4 countPhelps County: 13 countPierce County: 4 countPlatte County: 47 countPolk County: 7 countRed Willow County: 12 countRichardson County: 10 countSaline County: 15 countSarpy County: 213 countSaunders County: 32 countScotts Bluff County: 44 countSeward County: 26 countSheridan County: 9 countSherman County: 6 countSioux County: 0 countStanton County: 6 countThayer County: 8 countThomas County: 0 countThurston County: 4 countValley County: 10 countWashington County: 32 countWayne County: 8 countWebster County: 3 countYork County: 20 count
  • Under 4
  • 4 to 6
  • 6 to 9
  • 9 to 12
  • 12 to 28
  • 28 and over
  • No data
count, 2021. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Douglas County: 964 countDouglas County964Lancaster County: 416 countLancaster County416Sarpy County: 213 countSarpy County213Hall County: 81 countHall County81Buffalo County: 76 countBuffalo County76Platte County: 47 countPlatte County47Scotts Bluff County: 44 countScotts Bluff County44Adams County: 38 countAdams County38Cass County: 32 countCass County32Dodge County: 32 countDodge County32Lincoln County: 32 countLincoln County32Saunders County: 32 countSaunders County32Washington County: 32 countWashington County32Madison County: 29 countMadison County29Seward County: 26 countSeward County26Dawson County: 25 countDawson County25Otoe County: 24 countOtoe County24Gage County: 23 countGage County23York County: 20 countYork County20Dakota County: 15 countDakota County15Kearney County: 15 countKearney County15Saline County: 15 countSaline County15Cuming County: 14 countCuming County14Cheyenne County: 13 countCheyenne County13Custer County: 13 countCuster County13Hamilton County: 13 countHamilton County13Phelps County: 13 countPhelps County13Cedar County: 12 countCedar County12Red Willow County: 12 countRed Willow County12Holt County: 11 countHolt County11Knox County: 11 countKnox County11Butler County: 10 countButler County10Colfax County: 10 countColfax County10Keith County: 10 countKeith County10Richardson County: 10 countRichardson County10Valley County: 10 countValley County10Boone County: 9 countBoone County9Burt County: 9 countBurt County9Dixon County: 9 countDixon County9Fillmore County: 9 countFillmore County9Douglas County: 964 countDouglas County964Lancaster County: 416 countLancaster County416Sarpy County: 213 countSarpy County213Hall County: 81 countHall County81Buffalo County: 76 countBuffalo County76Platte County: 47 countPlatte County47Scotts Bluff County: 44 countScotts Bluff County44Adams County: 38 countAdams County38Cass County: 32 countCass County32Dodge County: 32 countDodge County32Lincoln County: 32 countLincoln County32Saunders County: 32 countSaunders County32Washington County: 32 countWashington County32Madison County: 29 countMadison County29Seward County: 26 countSeward County26Dawson County: 25 countDawson County25Otoe County: 24 countOtoe County24Gage County: 23 countGage County23York County: 20 countYork County20Dakota County: 15 countDakota County15Kearney County: 15 countKearney County15Saline County: 15 countSaline County15Cuming County: 14 countCuming County14Cheyenne County: 13 countCheyenne County13Custer County: 13 countCuster County13Hamilton County: 13 countHamilton County13Phelps County: 13 countPhelps County13Cedar County: 12 countCedar County12Red Willow County: 12 countRed Willow County12Holt County: 11 countHolt County11Knox County: 11 countKnox County11Butler County: 10 countButler County10Colfax County: 10 countColfax County10Keith County: 10 countKeith County10Richardson County: 10 countRichardson County10Valley County: 10 countValley County10Boone County: 9 countBoone County9Burt County: 9 countBurt County9Dixon County: 9 countDixon County9Fillmore County: 9 countFillmore County9
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Douglas County964+10.7%
2Lancaster County416+6.7%
3Sarpy County213-10.1%
4Hall County81+5.2%
5Buffalo County76+8.6%
6Platte County47+38.2%
7Scotts Bluff County44+10%
8Adams County38+35.7%
9Cass County32-20%
9Dodge County32+3.2%
9Lincoln County32+14.3%
9Saunders County32+14.3%
9Washington County32+23.1%
14Madison County29-31%
15Seward County26+8.3%
16Dawson County25-16.7%
17Otoe County24+200%
18Gage County23+15%
19York County20-13%
20Dakota County15-28.6%
20Kearney County15+36.4%
20Saline County150%
23Cuming County14+100%
24Cheyenne County13+85.7%
24Custer County13-27.8%
24Hamilton County13-18.8%
24Phelps County13+30%
28Cedar County12+33.3%
28Red Willow County12-33.3%
30Holt County11-52.2%
30Knox County11+83.3%
32Butler County10+233.3%
32Colfax County10-9.1%
32Keith County10-54.5%
32Richardson County10+11.1%
32Valley County10+25%
37Boone County90%
37Burt County9+50%
37Dixon County9-18.2%
37Fillmore County9+50%
37Howard County9+28.6%
37Sheridan County9+80%
43Nuckolls County8n/a
43Thayer County8-27.3%
43Wayne County8-20%
46Box Butte County7-58.8%
46Cherry County7+16.7%
46Franklin County7+133.3%
46Garfield County7+133.3%
46Merrick County7+16.7%
46Morrill County7+16.7%
46Polk County70%
53Dawes County6-33.3%
53Furnas County60%
53Greeley County6+100%
53Kimball County60%
53Sherman County6+50%
53Stanton County60%
59Clay County5-16.7%
59Johnson County5+66.7%
61Chase County4-55.6%
61Garden County4n/a
61Gosper County4n/a
61Hitchcock County4n/a
61Nemaha County4n/a
61Pawnee County4-50%
61Perkins County4-20%
61Pierce County4-66.7%
61Thurston County4-42.9%
70Harlan County3-25%
70Jefferson County3-50%
70Webster County30%
73Arthur County0n/a
73Banner County0n/a
73Blaine County0n/a
73Hayes County0-100%
73Hooker County0n/a
73Logan County0n/a
73Loup County0n/a
73Sioux County0n/a
73Thomas County0n/a

Other periods

About this ranking

New employer firms: firms of age zero in March of the year, meaning that every establishment of the firm had its first employees during the previous twelve months. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics, which calls these firms startups.

A firm counts only when it has employees, so a business without staff is not a birth, and a new branch, merger or change of ownership of an existing firm is not a birth either. Not the same as business_applications (requests for an employer number) or enterprise_births (European business demography). The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. 12 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978 (Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/nebraska-counties. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/nebraska-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/nebraska-counties (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_nebraska_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births, 2021}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-22},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/nebraska-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty\_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births, 2021
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/nebraska-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/nebraska-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Douglas County, with 964 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Thomas County, with 0 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22. 12 counties have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Nebraska: more rankings